126 SEA FISHERIES 



hake and whiting at 6f ; the red gurnard at 7^ ; the 

 mackerel at 9, and the angler-fish at 12. The municipal 

 employees at the fish markets would very quickly acquire 

 the habit of estimating the prescribed dimensions at a 

 glance. 



To return : the fry and the young of all edible species 

 should be protected. There are several means of ensuring 

 their protection. I have mentioned three : the prohibition 

 of destructive gear in territorial waters, involving the 

 complete disappearance of the shrimp-trawl ; the protec- 

 tion of spawning-grounds and nurseries, that is, the 

 bottoms of bays and estuaries, at the season of spawning 

 say from May to June ; and the prohibition of the sale 

 of all fish below a certain minimum size. The first 

 means is the most important. On this depend the other 

 two, and it could be substituted for both. 



There is nothing here that was not provided for in the 

 decree of 1862 ; but it must be applied in its integrity. 

 If the administration were also to order a methodical 

 pursuit of voracious fish and mammals, 1 and then a 

 series of measures guarding against amateur fishermen 

 and regulating the matter of outfalls and refuse, it would 

 hold a weapon which, if properly handled, would be 

 really efficacious. The other regulations are of the 

 industrial order ; they are based upon the experience 

 of centuries, and are ratified by modern science. 



1 The guard-ship of Douarnenez destroys a certain number of 

 belugas every year. 



